Heel ornament mounting band for women&#39;s shoes



Feb. 3', 1959 ULDALL 2,871,602

HEEL ORNAMENT MOUNTING BAND FOR "WOMEN'S SHOES Fild NOV. 13; 1956 INVENTQR. Jium H. UL ALL arrm fr 'nite States 2,871,602 Fatenteel Feb. 3, 1959 HEEL ORNAMENT MOUNTING BAND FOR WOMENS SHOES Faith H. Uldall, Los Angeles, 'Calif. Application November 13, 1956, Serial No. 621,960

3 Claims. (Cl. 41-10 This invention relates to heel ornaments for womens shoes and has as its general object to provide an improved mounting device for supporting heel ornaments on womens shoes of the open heel or backless type.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ornament support band which may be attached and will snugly adhere to the heel portion of a shoe without utilizing fastener devices of any kind. More specifically, the invention contemplates a band which will snugly grip and adhere to the heel portion of the shoe by embracing the same under inherent spring pressure.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the ensuing specification and appended drawing in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing my improved ornament supporting band attached to an open heel shoe;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view thereof taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the mounting band;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view thereof on its major axis; and

Fig. 6 is a front end view of the band.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, I have shown therein as an example of one form in which the invention may be embodied, an ornament mounting band adapted to be mounted upon an open heel shoe such as that shown in Fig. 1, including the toe portion 1!), an instep section 11 and a heel 12 (shown as being of the French type).

My improved ornament mounting band includes a band section 13 which, in plan, is generally of horseshoe shape and which includes a frusto-conical back web portion 14 and side arm portions 15 which normally taper forwardly toward a point somewhat forward of their forward ends, as viewed in plan, and which taper downwardly and inwardly as viewed in front elevation (Fig. 6). The band has an integral marginal flange 16 projecting inwardly from its upper margin throughout the length of the band. The forward ends of arm portions 15 are chamfered as at 17 so as to have forward portions in the form of triangular points terminating at its upper margin.

The band is constituted from a spring material, in thin sheet form, and may be fabricated either by injection molding or by press-forming (e. g. hot pressing) from sheet or ribbon material. Preferably, the material of the band is a plastic synthetic resin material, substantially unplasticized so as to have a high degree of elasticity and resiliency and to come within the category of spring materials. The use of a synthetic plastic material avoids the hardness that would be characterized by sheet metal, to an extent such that the edges of the band will not scratch or mutilate the surface of the shoe and the heel to which it is attached. Any thermoplastic resin which is capable of attaining good spring characteristics when compounded with a sufliciently low proportion of plasticizer, and which is not brittle, but on the contrary is tough and elastic, can be employed. Some of the thermosetting resins also can be employed, especially if used to impregnate a sheet of woven fabric or felted fiber sheet material, cloth or the like. Thus the material may be an impregnated fabric sheet as well as a sheet of solid plastic material.

Ornaments may be attached to the band in any desired manner, as by cementing them to the outer surface thereof. While the ornaments do not form any part of the invention they are shown in the drawings. Alternatively, the band may have a relatively smooth surface of ornamental nature, such as. gold or silver lacquer or a transparent lacquer with brilliant flakes embedded therein.

While the band is preferably of a relatively soft material such as may be obtained in various synthetic resin compositions, it need not necessarily be of synthetic plastic material but on the contrary may be fabricated of thin sheet metal of moderate spring quality, or of any suitably elastic sheet material covered with a plastic coating or a varnish or lacquer of any type having suitable weatherresisting characteristics. In the event such materials are used, it is to be understood that the finished article must be of a sufliciently tough, springy character to have the desired spring quality.

The band is applied to the shoe by spreading the arms 15 apart sufficiently to embrace between them the full width of the heel at its upper margin, and then sliding the band forwardly with the flange fitted over the upper surface of the heel 12. The tapering shape of the band section 13 is such as to conform to the contour of the shoe heel and the band is pushed snugly against the surface of the heel.

Since the heel 12 widens toward the rear, to approximately the center of the heel, the arms 15 of the band will grip the tapering narrower portion of the upper margin of the heel forwardly of this zone of maximum width, and will apply spring pressure thereto such as to resist rear ward shifting of the band. Any vibration transmitted to the band from the shoe will tend to cause the band to work forwardly and to maintain a position snugly engaging the rear surface of the heel.

The flange 16 rests against the upper margin of the heel 12 in order to support the band against the pull of gravity. In addition to the weight of the band tending to cause it to slip downwardly, the downwardly tapering inner faces of the side arms 13 of the band will hug the similarly tapering side faces of the heel 12 under the inherent spring loading of the band, and a wedging action will be thereby developed, tending to draw the band downwardly to maintain the flange 16 in snug contact with the upper surface of the heel. Thus the device avoids any looseness or vertical vibration or flopping thereof with relation to the shoe as the wearer walks thereon. On the contrary, the band will remain snugly attached to the shoe resisting all tendency to vibrate or flop vertically. This characteristic is important in avoiding a feeling of discomfort to the wearer of the shoe.

While the device is intended primarily for use with backless or open heel shoes, it will be understood that by reducing the upper marginal flange to a very slight width, it may be possible with some shoes having backs, to apply the band to the shoe heel with the flange projecting into the shallow groove existing between the upper surface of the heel section and the downwardly and inwardly tapering bottom portion of the shoe top, directly above the heel section.

The invention provides a self attaching ornament supporting band for a womans open heel shoe which requires no fasteners of any kind to secure it to the heel. It provides a band that is contoured to fit a heel having a lateral wall tapering downwardly and inwardly on both sides and at the rear thereof. It provides a band of generally horseshoe shape including the frusto-conical backweb portion 14 and the downwardly and inwardly tapering side arm portions 14 projecting forwardly therefrom more than at the area thereof to be embraced between :the arms of the band, whereby spring tension is developed in said, arms when spread to embrace the heel, said spring tension causing said arms to engage the heel with a grip resisting rearward displacement therefrom. It provides, a band which is supported by means of an integral flange .coextensive with its upper margin, projecting inwardly and adapted to hook over and be supported upon the upper margin of the shoe heel the side portions of which taper toward one another forwardly of the center of the heel. It utilizes such tapering relation in cooperation with the spring grip of the band, to effectively resist backward displacement of the band. It provides a band wherein the downward and inward tapering of the side arm portions thereof will exert a wedging effect against the similarly tapered faces of the heel to snugly maintain the'band against vertical flopping.

Any tendency of side arms to tilt upwardly at their forward ends (where the angle of inward taper of band section 13 is at a minimum) is further resisted by a slight offset at the upper margin of band section, defining a shoulder 18 which engages beneath the under edge of the heel plate 19 of the shoe. Shoulder 18 constitutes the under part of a rim portion 20 at the upper margin of band portion 13, the flange 16 constituting the upper part of rim portion 20. The marginal portion of heel plate 19 is received in rim portion 20.

Fig. 4 illustrates the extent to which the arms 15 close toward one another when the device is not installed on a shoe, and indicate in phantom, the opening of the arms to receive the heel'of the shoe.

1 claim:

1. A band for supporting heel ornaments upon an openheel shoe including a heel having an unindented lateral wall tapering downwardly and inwardly on both sides and at the rear and including a heel plate having an upper margin including a substantially semi-circular rear portion and side portions extending forwardly from said semi-circular rear portion and converging toward one another forwardly, said shoe having unobstructed space above said upper margin, said supporting band comprising: a substantially flat narrow flange at the top of said band, of substantially horseshoe shape and lying substantially in one plane, a' rim portion of outwardly convex channel section integrally joined to the outer margin of said flange, coextensive therewith circumferentially, and curved outwardly, downwardly and thence inwardly, and a skirt joined to the lower extremity of said rim portion and extending downwardly and inwardly, said band adapted to be attached to an open shoe heel in embracing relation thereto with said flange seated against the upper face of said heel plate around the margin thereof, with said rim receiving the marginal portion of said heel plate, and with said skirt conforming substantially to the lateral and rear areas of said heel adjacent the top thereof; said skirt including a generally frusto-conical rear portion extending downwardly and forwardly from said rim portion at an angle of approximately 45 at the rear central area of said frusto conical rear portion and a pair of side arm portions projecting downwardly and inwardly from the lateral portions of said rim portion at an angle of greater than 45 to the plane of said flange, said side arm portions being merged with the lateral extremities of said rear portion-and extending forwardly therefrom, said skirt having a lower margin a major portion of which is disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of said flange and spaced therebelow a distance not greater than the maximum radius of said band, whereby said band covers only a minor portion of the area of said heel, at the top thereof, said major portion of said lower margin extending from a central point of the lower extremity of said frusto conical rear portion to lower forward extremities of said skirt disposed forwardly of said rear center point a distance more than half the fore-aft dimension of the band, said side arm portions tapering upwardly and forwardly from said lower forward extremities to the forward extremities of said rim portion, said forward extremities of said rim portion beinggenerally vertical, the lateral portions of said rim and said side arms of the skirt converging forwardly at a greater angle than the angle defined between the side margins of the heel plate and the lateral faces of the heel respectively and their forward extremities being spaced from one another more closely than the spacing between the side margins and lateral areas of the heel plate and heel respectively; and said band being of synthetic resin plastic sheet material, with sufficient resiliency to provide for springing apart said lateral portions of the flange, rim and side arms to receive heel and heel plate at their maximum width, in an application of the band to the shoe wherein the forward extremities of said rim are pressed against the rear portion of the heel plate and wherein the band is then pressed forwardly to spread the said lateral portions and to receive the heel and heel plate within the band, said band further being sutficiently form retaining and elastic to hug the heel plate and heel when thus installed, with a grip sufiiciently tight to secure the band against rearward displacement from the heel.

2. A supporting band as defined in claim l, together with ornaments attached to the lateral surface thereof. .1

3. A supporting band as defined in claim 1, having an ornamentally covered surface. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

